In Steamboat Springs, Condo inventory was up 70% in the Fall, while single family inventory was up almost 50%. The above information looks very ominous but should it? What is the primary driver behind the “surge” in inventory? What does this mean for values and inventory over the next year? Will there be a real estate crash in Colorado ski real estate or will Colorado ski real estate continue appreciating?
What is in the data on Colorado ski town inventory increasing?
In almost every ski town, inventory has made a huge U-turn from the Covid lows. In the fall Steamboat Springs inventory of homes for sale surged almost 50% in the fall while condos are up almost 70%. In Eagle County, home to Vail, homes for sale in the fall were up 23% while condo inventory was up around 11%.
Need to put the inventory rise in Colorado ski towns in perspective
I wanted to see how “severe” the inventory rise was in Steamboat Springs. In October of 2025 there were 161 houses on the market, if I go back to pre Covid and look at 2017 and 2018, there were 248 houses on the market, in 2025 the number of houses for sale is 35% less than 2018.
In Eagle county in October of 25 there were 318 homes for sale, in the same time period in 2018 there were 419 for sale and in 2017 there were 506 homes for sale. Look at the chart below, Routt and Eagle have considerably less for sale in 2025 versus 2018
Inventory rise in mountains below historical
Even though inventory has risen substantially when compared to a historical reference year of 2018 which is pre Covid inventory is still substantially lower. In essence the surge in inventory is not even bringing inventory up to what it was 7 years ago in Eagle (home to Vail) and Routt (home to Steamboat).
Interesting trend in why inventory is now rising
Living, investing, and lending in the mountains I keep a close eye on many of the key markets in Colorado. In the ski towns I’ve noticed and interesting trend. The overwhelming majority of the listings now coming on were bought during the Covid boom. Take a look at the details on a listing in Copper Mountain. The house was bought 4 years ago during the Covid boom and the townhouse is now listed for double what was paid.
Here is another one in Steamboat Springs:
Covid sales spurring the increase in inventory
Although the increase in inventory is increasing in most Colorado ski towns, the overwhelming majority I have looked at are properties bought during Covid that have big appreciation. The million dollar question is why are they selling now? Here are three reasons why they are selling now:
- Huge appreciation: Many properties bought over the last 4 years have seen huge appreciation gains and in many cases like above, the properties are selling for almost double what they sold for when they were bought
- Return to old habits: there was this theory that people would move to the mountains and spend tons of time there, but old habits are hard to break, people are traveling, going on cruises, spending time in other locations, etc…
- Mountains are expensive: Having a house/condo in the mountains is very expensive from taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.. which many people didn’t factor in when the bought so they are selling due to the expenses
Sky is not falling in Colorado ski real estate
Even though the headline numbers look like the sky is falling, the reality is far different. Take a look at February numbers for Steamboat, although inventory has risen, the median prices are still rising (I know this is a small sample size, but the trend is still true). But it is important to note that in the majority of mountain towns inventory is still way below pre Covid levels which will greatly limit a huge downside reset in prices.
Long and short, inventory is rising, but I’m not hugely concerned as inventory was starting from such low levels during Covid. Furthermore, many of the listings now are Covid profit taking that should wash through the market in the next year or so.
I don’t see any fundamental deterioration in the market fundamentals which means long term ski real estate will continue to be a good investment but as with anything there are hiccups along the way but overall still a solid investment.
Additional Reading/ Resources
https://coloradorealtors.com/market-trends/regional-and-statewide-statistics/
https://coloradohardmoney.com/i70-traffic-snarls-ski-real-estate-2/
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Glen Weinberg personally writes these weekly real estate blogs based on his real estate experience as a lender and property owner. He is the owner of Fairview Commercial Lending. Glen has been published as an expert in hard money lending, real estate valuation, financing, and various other real estate topics in Bloomberg, Businessweek ,the Colorado Real Estate Journal, National Association of Realtors Magazine, The Real Deal real estate news, the CO Biz Magazine, The Denver Post, The Scotsman mortgage broker guide, Mortgage Professional America and various other national publications.
Glen resides in Colorado, lends in Colorado, owns property in Colorado, and services loans in Colorado which provides a unique real estate prospective of what is actually happening on the ground both in Denver and throughout Colorado. My goal of this real estate blog is to provide an honest assessment of what I see happening in Colorado real estate and how it will impact real estate owners, buyers, realtors, mortgage professionals, etc…
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